Our Lives Magazine

01/06/2026

"When I joined the Council, the advocacy piece was still part of the mission, but it needed a booster shot, which was really exciting to me—to help really reinvigorate public policy and advocacy and to build a lot of coalition work."

READ HERE: https://ourliveswisconsin.com/article/defying-bias-building-bridges

01/02/2026

"We are playing a bunch of slave owners on stage, but we're rapping and most of us, if not all of us, are Black. It kind of doesn't make sense in a way, but it's fanciful, it's art and storytelling."

READ HERE: https://ourliveswisconsin.com/article/hamilton-actor-coming-to-madison-discusses-acting-queer-visibility-touring-and-creativity/

01/01/2026

Happy New Year. As we close out 2025, we do so with clear eyes, knowing this year asked a lot of LGBTQ+ people in Wisconsin—especially our trans family—and that simply getting through it took courage. Today (and everyday), we honor that resilience and the care we showed one another. Here’s to 2026: to rest, to repair, to community, and to a future shaped by our visibility, dignity, and hope.

12/31/2025

"When evangelical and fundamentalist Christian faith organizations use the Bible to exclude and harm, we have to stand up to that," said Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford, one of the event organizers.

READ HERE: https://ourliveswisconsin.com/article/trans-affirming-christians-gather-at-the-capitol-to-say-not-in-jesus-name/

12/29/2025

“I want a life that when I sit down in a rocking chair, I will have stories to tell.”

READ HERE: https://ourliveswisconsin.com/article/pat-cummings-forging-a-relentless-path-to-progress/

12/27/2025

Thank you Rev. Hart!

We’ve featured the reverend multiple times over the years. Grateful for his allyship and advocacy.

Beloved: We wish that we were writing you a different letter. A letter filled with joy and affirmation and triumph. A letter that would be able to let you know that legislators, leaders and other…

12/22/2025

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12/12/2025

In October, Rob Rosā and Michael Johnson were awarded $104 Million verdict following a I-90 crash in 2016, marking a historic first for civil union recognition.

READ HERE: https://ourliveswisconsin.com/article/illinois-jury-awards-madison-couple-historic-verdict-recognizing-civil-union-for-loss-of-consortium-damages/

12/11/2025

“I’m a very private person, and the only name you will know me by is Champagne Beige.”

This was the opening line of our conversation with Wisconsin’s oldest drag performer, Champagne, who is still dishing it out at age 79.

READ HERE: https://ourliveswisconsin.com/article/champagne-still-high-kicking-after-60-years-in-drag/

12/09/2025

If you know any LGBTQ+ Wisconsinites who married in 2025, please tag them so Our Lives Magazine can invite them to be in our annual wedding feature! If not, you can still help by sharing this. ❤️🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

12/01/2025

Today is World AIDS Day. It is a moment to honor the friends, lovers, mentors, and elders we've lost, and to recognize the strength of those among us living with HIV.

We carry the weight of that history, but also the resilience from caring for one another when no one else would.

On this day, we remember—but we also look forward, with hope, with pride, and with the knowledge that our community's courage continues to shape a better future.